Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Few people know that the historic Brown vs. Board of Education case, which in
1954 outlawed racially “separate-but-equal” schools, had roots in the Carolinas. What the Supreme Court heard was a case brought in Topeka, Kansas, but it
included four other similar suits from around the country, including one brought
in Clarendon County, S.C.

Steve Crump

In a 30-minute special at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, “Brown at 60: Reading, Writing
and Bridging the Racial Gap,” WBTV reporter Steve Crump
examines the harvest of six decades of school integration in the Carolinas.He tells the story of how black parents brought a suit against Clarendon
County because their children were required to walk miles to a school, while
white children had access to school buses. Among those interviewed with
first-hand memories of those days is J.A. Delaine Jr.,whose father
was active in the suit and suffered personal loss as a result.Also interviewed is Dorothy Counts, who was the first black
student at Charlotte’s Harding High School and was spat upon and jeered while
walking into the building the first time. Counts says the racial divide, much
reduced, still need attention nowadays. “We have to learn to trust each other,”
she says.Crump also looks at how many schools remain semi-segregated by economic and
social forces today, including those in Clarendon County.

Others offering perspective in the wide-ranging special, produced by
Jennifer Torsiello, include Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools
superintendent Heath Morrison, U.S. Rep. James
Clyburn, whose district includes Clarenton County, and Tom
Hanchett, historian at the Levine Museum of the New South.

Monday, May 5, 2014

Gannett Broadcasting has announced the appointment of a veteran news executive, Deborah Collura, as president and general manager of WCNC (Channel 36).

Deborah Collura

WCNC has been without a full-time general manager since the December retirement of Tim Morrissey, who left the station when Gannett purchased it.

Collura comes to Charlotte from Houston, where she served as news director of the NBC affiliate as well as vice president of news for Post-Newsweek stations.

"For the past six months, I have been looking for a person with the experience, track record of performance and professional curiosity to lead WCNC through what may prove to be the most exciting time of its history," Peter Diaz, executive vice president of Gannett Broadcasting, said in a statement Monday.

At Post-Newsweek, Collura was responsible for developing talent and strategic planning.

Collura has also worked in news department roles at stations in St. Louis, Miami, Minneapolis, Sacramento, Detroit and Rockford, Ill.

Collura, an Illinois native, graduated with a degree in broadcast journalism from Northern Illinois University. She is expected to start at WCNC in early June, Diaz said.